thumb rests/paint jobs

I believe I am imminently buying a Fender Jazz Bass and I had a couple questions I was curious about.

First off, is it possible/easy to put a thumb rest on one of those basses? I'm used to a certain style of playing from my old bass and I wanted to know if I could put something like that on since I'm used to having a place to put my thumb for leverage.

Second, and this is more curiousity than anything, but how difficult/expensive is it to get a Fender Jazz bass painted a different color?

If you are talking about the plastic thumb rests that just simply attach with two screws (like my old Musicmaster had), then it would be no problem at all. Just buy yourself the thumb rest, and decide where you want to attach it. Quite simple.

As far as getting a bass repainted, I had a Charvel bass repainted before. I sanded it down, and had my local body shop spray it with paint. Turned out very nice. Make sure to mask off any areas where you don't want paint (pickup holes, bridge ground wire hole under bridge, etc.) I am not sure if this is the correct type of paint to use on wood, but it worked great for me. You can also talk to your local luthier and see what he recommends. Or you can just do it yourself, if you are skilled in doing that sort of thing.

THC,
Does the double-sided tape really work? Have you had any problems with durability (staying stuck), or was it a one-time mod that you haven't had to re-do? If you haven't had any problems with the thumbrest coming undone, did you use a specific brand/type of tape, or would any off-the-shelf brand work?

The only caveats I would give are: Make SURE you place it in the exact spot you want. Also: Make sure your bass is clean. I think any 3M brand works pretty good. But I use the thinnest tape I can find and take that into consideration when I measure up. I decided on the tape after I mounted one permanently to a Warwick fortress I have, and realized I shouldn't have drilled holes in it! live & learn. I have more pics of Thumbrests on some other basses if you're interested. I personally think it works great! And actually, I can't live without it.

This one's the Warwick. This is my best thumbrest. Notice how I contoured it into the pup. This one I screwed in to the body. I regretted doing it afterward, so that's when I decided to go the tape route. So far, I've had no problems W/ it coming off at gigs, but it would be wise to carry a small roll of backup tape in your gigbag just in case. Call it cheap insurance.
Also, I added a clear piece of rigid plastic under this thumbrest to protect the body from thumb travel because the finish on this bass seems to wear quite easily. Oiled finish.